Weather Forecast

Fargo ranked 19th best-run city out of 150 largest in U.S

FARGO -- Fargo was ranked as the 19th best-run city out of the 150 largest cities in the U.S., according to a study by a personal finance website.

WalletHub said the city’s lowest jobless rate among the 150 cities boosted the ranking. The city also ranked 11th for its economy and education and 14th for safety.

Other rankings were 23rd for overall health, 27th for infrastructure and pollution, 40th for budget per capita and 49th for financial stability.

“I am not surprised by the ranking,” said Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney. “We try to run the city as efficiently as possible and save money where we can.” He seemed a little concerned the city wasn’t ranked higher in the health category. “We’ll have to work on that.”

Overall, the study by a team of 10 university professors from around the nation that specialize in urban studies and political science said the city was seventh for “quality of city services.” The team then divided the city services by the total budget per capita, in which Fargo ranked lower, to come up with the overall best-run scores.

Among the areas the team used were data from average life expectancy, hospital beds per capita, violent crime rate, K-12 school quality, Moody’s city credit ratings, median annual household income, job growth, quality of roads and recreation friendliness.

The best-run city was Nampa, Idaho, with Sioux Falls, S.D., not far behind at No. 6. Bismarck was No. 22. The two worst-run cities, the study said, were Detroit and Washington, D.C.